Moscow Journalists’ Union calls on Ukrainian people for peace and harmony

MOSCOW, December 11 (Itar-Tass) - The Moscow Union of Journalists considers the situation in Ukraine alarming and calls for peace and reconciliation, Pavel Gusev, the union’s head and editor-in-chief of the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

He noted that “veteran Russian journalists, the Moscow Journalists’ Union members and participants in the World War II have asked veterans of the Ukrainian journalist community to express their opinion on the situation in the country”.

“We want to hear the voice of Ukrainian veteran journalists and to know how they see the future of the country,” Gusev said.

The union’s appeal to the Ukrainian people, obtained by Itar-Tass, says: “We are watching developments in Kiev with great anxiety. The opposition’s protest actions we see on television give causes for concern.”

“We do not want to interfere in the domestic policy of a sovereign and independent state, and we are not going to issue recommendations to Ukrainian citizens,” the message says. “We share the opinion of Russian President Vladimir Putin who stressed the idea that ‘the Ukrainian people will determine on their own their actions to be taken in the near future and the historical perspective; and irrespective of what their choice is, we will respect it anyway’. But we as veteran journalists cannot stay indifferent and unconcerned.”

“Ukraine is a fraternal country. Centuries-old indissoluble ties of friendship historically unite our native land with it,” journalists say in their message. “We clearly understand what dangerous consequences some ill-considered or, on the contrary, calculated actions by aggressive people may bring about.”

“We are asking our descendants to live in harmony irrespective of what their nationality and political views,” Moscow's journalists said.